


Settling Down?

by alice_time



Series: Wild at Heart [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU they're all alive, BAMF Danny, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, He died in the first fic though, Jaguar Stiles, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Police Officer Derek, Stiles does stupid things, Werewolves, except peter, no one dies, werejaguar, yup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-08 19:56:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1136732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alice_time/pseuds/alice_time
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The follow up to The Runaways! You should read that one first for clarity's sake. More tags may show up later. I haven't made up my mind about a few things. Kinks to work out. Take that every way you can think of. </p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Taking Care

Chapter One

To be completely fair to Stiles, neither of them had been at their best in the past couple months, but Derek wasn’t feeling very fair these days. He was too wrapped up with work to tolerate shenanigans, and if there was one thing that had not changed in Stiles, it was his love of shenanigans. 

Well that and his inability to sleep in a normal position. 

So when the call came in that Stiles’ car had been found out by the preserve, abandoned, Derek wasn’t concerned. Stiles was a predator in his own right after all. He had gotten the jaguar under control and was shifting between forms like one born to it. If anyone was going to be safe wandering the woods, it was Stiles. 

When the call came in that someone had spotted a mountain lion in the preserve, Derek’s interest was piqued just a bit. After all, Stiles was far too careful to be spotted. 

And then the call came in that Fish and Game, while doing a routine check of the area’s deer population, had tranquilized a very large exotic cat—well, Derek became more than interested and drove at breakneck speed out to the preserve, praying under his breath that Stiles had not just gotten himself tangled up with Fish and Game. He was hoping some idiot had kept a pet tiger. He was hoping he didn’t have to find a way to extricate his boyfriend from the cage in the back of Fish and Game’s van. 

Unfortunately, luck was not on Derek Hale’s side. 

He arrived at the preserve and made a beeline for the tan and black van with the Federal logo painted on the side. He flashed his badge and a smile at the officers, dressed sharply in his sheriff’s deputy uniform. 

“I understand you found an exotic cat in the preserve? My boss sent me down to make sure we don’t have some weirdo with a zoo full of critters in the forest somewhere.”

The female officer smiled back at him. She was a freckled, dark haired woman with broad shoulders and an easy posture that screamed confidence. She wore a khaki uniform and a black jacket with the logo from the van on the shoulders. “Deputy, we haven’t seen any evidence of that. Either way though, this fella does not belong in California.” She pointed at the back of the van.

“What is it exactly?” Derek asked. 

“A jaguar,” the other officer said. An older man, old enough to be Stiles’ father, with a receding hairline and a strong jaw. “Which has no damn business being in California.”

“Maybe it came from a zoo?”

“I don’t think so,” the woman said. “He’s well fed, but more muscular than most zoo cats. I’d say he’s been hunting out here for months at least given the deer graveyard he’s built up for himself.”

Derek nodded and peered into the back of the van at the sleeping jungle cat. He looked carefully at the hind legs and spotted the smiley face shaped marking that denoted Stiles’ tattoo in human form. God dammit. 

“Geeze. Lucky no one got hurt,” Derek said. “I better call in.” He walked away and pulled out his phone. He had no intention of calling the sheriff, but he did need back up. 

“What’s up?”

“Scott, Stiles is in the back of a Fish and Wildlife van in jaguar mode and I need some help.”

“I’ll be right there.”

It said something about Stiles that Scott didn’t question any part of that. 

Derek walked back to the Fish and Wildlife van. “The Sherriff wants to do a sweep of the area, just in case. You guys know animals better than I do, could you walk with me?”

“Spots here isn’t going anywhere,” the man said. “Come on Hughes.”

Derek led them away from the van, determined to get them turned around enough in the woods to give Scott time to get Stiles out of there. Later, once Stiles was completely aware and safe, Derek was going to kill him. 

***

Stiles woke up in the back of the van a bit confused, a bit annoyed and then a bit worried. He stretched a bit and took a deep breath, catching Scott’s scent as his friend came around to the back of the van. 

“Stiles, jeeze man. I was hoping Derek was joking.” He opened up the cage door. “Come on, shift back and let’s go.” He held up a t-shirt and sweatpants. 

Stiles bared his teeth in a moment of mock ferocity and concentrated on returning to his human skin. He shook out of his jaguar without any fuss. Scott was always a bit jealous of how fluid Stiles’ changes managed to be. Stiles wasn’t going to disillusion him, it still hurt like all of his bones were being broken, but his throat tended to close first and kept him from screaming. 

He preferred the cool factor remain though. 

He grabbed the clothes and threw them on, jumping out of the van and following behind Scott. He’d brought his mother’s car. Stiles slipped  
into the passenger’s seat and they were off before Derek and the Wildlife officers got back. Scott took Stiles home. 

“What happened, man?” Scott asked. 

“I was just—hunting. I didn’t know Fish and Wildlife was out there. I mean, I’m not an idiot.” 

Scott looked at his friend in disbelief. “Really?” 

“Please let that slide.” 

“For now. Derek’ll be here later I’m sure. So you have plenty of time to come up with something better.”

“Oh god…” Stiles groaned. “He’s going to kill me.”

“Probably. But if he doesn’t, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Stiles grinned tightly and watched his friend drive away before heading inside the house. He made a beeline for the fridge. He was hungry. It was better to eat now, before Derek showed up to yell at him. His dad had to stock a lot more food than the typical parent of a teenager and that was saying something. Teenagers did have bottomless stomachs, but teenage shape shifters were in a class of their own. 

Stiles went through a bucket of fried chicken leftover from last night, the last of the deli meat and bread and a half-gallon of milk. Snack done, he headed up to his room to get a bit of homework done—or at least pretend to get some homework done before Derek’s inevitable arrival. 

Stiles was about a year behind the rest of his friends for graduation. Lydia, on the other hand, had ditched the attempt at high school and been accepted at four colleges on the provision of her GED, which she already had along with her perfect SAT scores. It was Lydia after all.  
Stiles wasn’t stupid by any stretch, but Lydia made him feel stupid. Not on purpose. Well, not all the time. 

He was halfway through a Chemistry lab when he heard the telltale squeak the front porch boards. A moment after that he caught Derek’s scent. His heart beat sped up and in the moment he considered jumping out the window, it was too late. 

“Stiles.” Derek loomed in the doorway of his bedroom, which his father had kept preserved like an eerie time capsule until Stiles returned. It looked pretty much the same as it had before except with different clothes strewn on the floor. 

“Derek. Hey. What’s up?”

“That’s how you want to play this?”

“Play what?”

“You got caught by Fish and Game, Stiles! They’re going to make a report. People will come looking. A jaguar in California? I thought you knew how to be careful. Clearly, I was mistaken.”

“Wow, come on. I didn’t go looking for them. I didn’t even know they were there.”

“Wonderful. That makes me feel better.”

“Look, I’m sorry.” Stiles stalked forward. “I promise I’ll be more careful.” He put a hand on Derek’s chest and tried for a coy smile. “Let me make it up to you.”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “Are you trying to seduce me into letting this go?”

“No?”

“Uh huh.” Derek was glad he hadn’t changed before coming over. It meant he still had his handcuffs. Derek casually put a hand on Stile’s shoulder and kissed him—and then cuffed Stiles to his bedpost. 

“Hey!”

“I’m going to talk to your father, and then I’m gong to talk to Deaton. We’ll see if we can’t fix this whole mess and then you and I are going to have a long conversation.”

Stiles growled. 

Derek raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. “Behave yourself while I fix this. Okay?”

“You can’t just leave me handcuffed to my bed, Derek.” Stiles jerked on the cuff. “Come on.”

Derek held up the key, walked across the room and deliberately placed the key on the top most shelf of Stiles’ computer desk. “There you go. Good luck. I’ll talk to you later.”

Derek left the room with Stiles sputtering at him incoherently. Stiles sighed and looked at the key so far out of reach and then back at the handcuffs. “I hate you.” 

“No you don’t,” Derek called back. 

Stiles couldn’t argue with that.


	2. Old Ghosts

Stiles was not having a good day. Sure, he’d finally managed to get out of the cuffs, but on the whole it wasn’t an especially good day. He wasn’t completely sure how he got caught. It didn’t make sense. Had someone reported seeing a wild cat in the forest? He needed to talk to Derek about it, but asking him about it would make it seem like he hadn’t been doing the sensible thing and checking local news outlets for reports of large cats.

And he totally did that.

“Stiles!” his dad shouted.

The pen Stiles had been chewing on fell out of his mouth with a clatter onto the desk. “Yeah, Dad?”

John came upstairs and stopped in the doorway of his son’s bedroom, disbelief all over his face. “Fish and Wildlife?”

“Uh…it wasn’t that bad. I swear.”

“I already talked to Derek and Scott, Stiles. I know how bad it was.”

Stiles swallowed. “Look, I didn’t see them. I don’t know how they knew I was out there. I’ve been looking at the reports, no one’s sent out anything about big cats in the area.”

John crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his son. “It only takes one pushy over-excited jogger to get someone out there you know.”

“Yeah, Dad, I know, but there isn’t a single report. Not one. I hacked into—I mean, I found them through completely legal means and there weren’t any reports.”

“Did we or did we not talk about hacking?”

“Yeah but this was—”

“Yeah but nothing, Stiles.” He stepped into the room. “Have you been hacking into the sheriff’s station?”

“No…”

“I’m taking away your internet.”

“Dad—”

“Don’t ‘Dad’ me. And don’t try to crack the new wi-fi password, Stiles. Derek wants to talk to you, by the way. He might be angrier than I am.”

Stiles sighed.

“You need to take this seriously, Stiles.”

“I am taking this seriously, Dad.”

“I really hope you are.” He gave Stiles a look and walked out of the room.

Stiles sighed. He wasn’t completely certain that this could get worse, but he wasn’t willing to say it out loud. Except it was totally going to get worse because Derek still wanted to have a talk.

“I am so fucking screwed.”

***

Stiles woke up to a looming presence in his bedroom. “Hey, Derek.”

“Stiles.” Derek didn’t look angry. Stiles wasn’t sure if that was good or not. “There was a call, a tip, made to Fish and Wildlife.”

“Someone saw me?” Stiles raised his eyebrows.

“It’s not that.” Derek shook his head and sat down on the bed next to Stiles. “The call was recorded, I listened to it.” There was something off about Derek’s tone.

“Derek,” Stiles put a hand on Derek’s arm, “what’s wrong?”

“I knew the voice.” Derek looked at Stiles. “There was a time when things got bad in Beacon Hills, before Peter tried to become Alpha. I was still a kid, four or five maybe? There was a string of murders. They are still unsolved.”

“The murders in the woods,” Stiles said. “I’ve seen the files.”

“Yeah. Well, there was a druid sacrificing people in the woods. My mother thought she killed the druid responsible but…I can’t forget the sound of that woman’s voice and I heard that voice again today.”

Stiles swallowed. “Are you telling me there’s a killer in the woods?”

“A killer that decided to send us a message. She knows who you are, where you hunt.” Derek shook his head. “I called my mother and sent her the recording, Deaton too. Until we know what’s going on we have stick together. No one hunts alone. Especially you.”

“Okay.”

Derek put a hand in Stiles’ hair and managed a smile. “I know you aren’t stupid—I can’t lose you.”

Stiles took a deep breath. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” Stiles snuggled up next to Derek. “Stay with me tonight?”

Derek sighed, the sheriff wouldn’t be happy about it, but Derek couldn’t find it in himself to care right then. He put his arms around Stiles and settled down into the bed. “If your dad comes home, I’m diving out the window.”

Stiles snorted. “I can’t believe you’re afraid of my dad.”

“I’m not stupid.” Derek closed his eyes and smiled. “Your dad is scary.”

“So is your mom.” Stiles pulled Derek’s arm around his shoulders and put his head on the bigger man’s chest. “When I graduate, we should get our own place.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Stiles wriggled some more. “Then we won’t have to worry about my dad or your mom, or your sisters or Scott, or Isaac or Jackson or Erica or Boyd walking in on us.”

“Have all of those people actually walked in on us?” Derek muttered.

“Actually, yes.”

“We have a lot of sex,” Derek realized.

“You can never have too much sex.” Stiles sighed softly. “You’re really warm. And soft.”

“And you smell good,” Derek replied. “Go to sleep.”

“Take your shoes off first.”

“Fine.” Derek shifted to loosen his laces before kicking the boots off and settling back into the pillows Stiles kept copious amounts of on his bed. There was Stiles’ special pillow in the striped case, just visible underneath a suede body pillow.

Stiles fell asleep listening to Derek’s heartbeat.

 

***

Stiles was dreaming. It was a dream he used to have all the time when he was in New York. He was in the forest the night Peter attacked him and his friends. Stiles had been scratched across the chest and was bleeding badly. Three deep wounds that ran from his left pectoral muscle to his side. The blood soaked his shirt, hoodie and jeans. He was stumbling, losing focus.

The monster was howling again. Stiles heart beat faster. This was all familiar.

And then it wasn’t. Cold black rain started to pour down around him. The ground at his feet turned to mud and the roots of the trees started to writhe. They reached out and wrapped around his ankles, dragging him to the ground. Stiles screamed.

In the bedroom, Derek was wrestling with Stiles, grappling to keep him from hurting himself. He put his arm around Stiles’ chest tight. “Stiles, wake up! Wake up! You’re having a nightmare!”

John came into his son’s room in time to observe Stiles’ finally waking up and Derek gently trying to calm him down. Stiles had left long scratches on Derek’s arms, face and chest, but they were already starting to heal.

“It’s okay,” Derek said. “Just a nightmare.”

Stiles took deep breaths, trying to put the sensation of being pulled down into the earth out of his mind.

“I would ask what you’re doing here,” John said, “But I’m tired. Stiles, are you okay?”

“I’m okay—really. Just a nightmare.” Stiles took another deep breath. “I’m okay, Dad.”

John sighed and gave Derek a pointed look. “No sex while I’m in the house.” It was obvious from John’s demeanor that he wanted to talk to Stiles, but he’d wait until _after_ his son’s boyfriend had left. He rubbed a hand over his face and walked away.

Stiles grimaced. “He’s going to yell at me later.”

“That’s okay.” Derek pet Stiles’ hair gently. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Stiles wasn’t sure that was strictly true. “Just a nightmare.”

Derek kissed Stiles on the cheek. “I thought you were going to claw my eyes out.”

“Sorry.” Stiles looked Derek in the eyes. “I think I need to talk to Deaton though. I—there was something about this nightmare. It felt so real.”

“Okay. First thing tomorrow. You’re lucky it’s still the weekend.”

“Yeah, this is how I want to spend my weekend.” Stiles snorted. “In a van, terrified of undead druids and convening a council to discuss said druid.”

“My mom will make pie though,” Derek said, flashing a smile.

“Just the thing to take the edge off, Talia Hale’s famous apple pie.” Stiles smiled back. “I need a shower. I feel gross.” He always sweat when he had a nightmare. “You wanna come with me?”

Derek gave Stiles a long look. “Your dad said no sex while he’s in the house.”

“I didn’t say sex, I said a shower.”

Derek gave his boyfriend a disbelieving look.

“What? You have strong hands and I like it when you wash my hair.”

Derek sighed. “I am going straight to hell.”


	3. Promises

The Hale pack gathered at the family home over pie and a sense of trepidation. Talia Hale, a tall woman with long dark curls just like her daughters’. Laura was the oldest of the four, a lawyer by trade who looked to have come straight from the office in her smart pant suit. Allison was the next eldest at eighteen, and since her father had moved into the Hale house, she’d been roped into it as well, but seemed to be adapting well to having family underfoot all the time. Then came Cora, a senior in high school who still lived at home, just a hair taller than her older sister with the same grumpy disposition as her brother. Maria, the youngest, was fifteen, a bit vain and prone to pranks. Stiles had found a kindred spirit in her.

When Stiles and Derek arrived, Laura was in the middle of a spirited conversation which seemed to revolve around her going on a date.

“Come on, Laura,” Maria wheedled. “At least tell me his name.”

“Maria,” Talia rebuked. “Leave your sister alone.” She looked at her eldest child. “But Laura, really, what is his name?”  
Laura groaned, spotting her brother with a profound look of relief. “Derek! Thank god. Tell me you brought booze.”

Derek held up the bottle of wine he’d grabbed.

“My hero.” She took the bottle and headed for the kitchen.

Talia smiled at her son and kissed him on the cheek, and then Stiles’ as well. “Boys, so good to see you.”

“Are the others here yet?” Derek asked.

“Erica was in the backyard,” Talia replied. “The boys,” meaning Isaac, Boyd and Scott, “were with her. I haven’t seen Jackson yet.” Jackson was always separate from the others in accounting for the pack. Talia kept a very close eye on the egocentric youth, he took far too much after his father. It was the best kept secret of the Hale family, Jackson being Peter’s son.

“Is Deaton coming?” Stiles asked.

“He should be here any minute now.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“Fine, late night.”

She gave her son a look.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Derek said defensively. “Stiles had a nightmare.”

Lydia walked into the house with Deaton. “He’s not the only one.” She made a face. “I did too.”

“Trees?”Stiles asked.

She nodded.

“Trees?” Talia asked.

“Yes,” Lydia said. “There was rain, and then the roots of the trees dragged me down.” She swallowed. “It was awful.”

Talia looked at Lydia and then Stiles before addressing Deaton. “We have to talk about her, don’t we?”

“I’m afraid so,” Deaton replied calmly. “Who are we including in this conversation?”

“It’s best if we tell everyone,” Talia replied. “No more secrets.”

“All right. Gather the pack.”

Talia whistled sharply twice, which was enough to bring everyone into the house. Together they trouped into the living room. The pack had grown exponentially since Peter had bitten Scott and Jackson. Another Alpha had come through eight months ago and bit three more teens. Erica, Boyd and Isaac. Erica was a blonde bombshell with an attitude. Boyd was her boyfriend, a towering eighteen year old with dark skin and an easy smile. Isaac, the curly haired beanpole, between them and Scott on the longest sofa. Jackson took a chair and Stiles claimed the loveseat for himself and Derek.

Once everyone was seated Talia, Chris, and Deaton took the floor in front of the fireplace.

“Twenty years ago there was a string of murders,” Chris started. “I came to Beacon Hills during that time.”

“The murders were sacrifices,” Deaton added. “Beacon Hills has always been a place where unusual people come. They feel drawn here.”

“A very long time ago there was a tree that druids used as an altar,” Talia explained. “It was cut down. The goal of those sacrifices was to bring the tree back to life. Of course, killing all of those people…we couldn’t let her keep doing that.”

“We killed her,” Chris said. “Or, we thought we did until Derek played that recording. It was her voice, I’m sure of it.”

Talia nodded.

“So who is this mystery woman who sacrificed people to a tree?” Erica asked. She was chewing gum.

“Her name is Julia Baccari,” Deaton said. “If she’s alive, it means she isn’t human anymore. She wouldn’t have survived otherwise.”

“What’s her interest in our kitty-cat?” Isaac asked.

Stiles gave Isaac a look that promised retribution at a later date.

“Were-jaguars are incredibly uncommon,” Deaton replied. “Jaguars are also apex predators. They hunt differently from wolves. Julia knows how to hide from wolves, I think she was afraid Stiles would find her.” Deaton looked at Stiles. “Jaguars are solitary hunters, you would’ve noticed if she infringed on your territory.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose. “Well, I don’t think I smelled anyone weird recently.”

“You must have gotten close to her at some point,” Chris said.

Stiles frowned, thinking about the past few times he’d gone hunting. “Well, I remember seeing this weird tree stump last week. It felt weird, the jaguar didn’t like it. I kind of put it out my mind because it wasn’t food.”

Derek snorted. “Of course.”

“Where was the stump?” Deaton asked.

“Uh—south of the cliff face, in that clearing. It was strange because I’ve never seen it before. Don’t know how I could’ve missed it. It was huge. I’ve been through plenty of times.”

“The tree was very powerful once,” Deaton said. “Even the stump has strange properties. It can hide itself, move the trees around it to some degree.”

“Great,” Stiles made a face. “Magical tree stumps. I have entered a new level of weird.”

“Says the were-jaguar,” Lydia said.

“Says the banshee,” Stiles replied.

“Children,” Chris admonished. “Could we focus on the task at hand please?”

“Sure, Dad,” Allison flashed a toothy smile. “We can focus.”

Stiles had a strange feeling that she wasn’t talking about the same thing they’d been talking about, and given the sour look that flashed on her father’s face, Chris knew it too. And from Scott’s face, so did he. Stiles filed that information away for later use.

“So what exactly do we do about this tree and the not-dead Julia?” Lydia asked.

“We have to find her before she starts killing again,” Deaton said. “We have to be vigilant. No one hunts alone. No one.”

“And if I catch any of you out there alone,” Talia said, “you will have to face me.” She looked every single one of them in the eye. “Are we clear?”

There was a muttered chorus of yes ma’ams and nods. No matter how sarcastic or lippy the teenage members of the pack got, they knew better than to cross Talia. The only exception to that was Lydia, who had no fear of anyone or anything except her own mind.

“Once we find Julia, we kill her,” Chris said. “Keep your eyes open and report anything out of the usual weirdness.”

“Now, why don’t we all have dinner?” Talia said.

***

 

After the adults had gone off to converse, the youngest members of the pack went outside around the bonfire. Isaac and Jackson sat together. Stiles couldn’t imagine what those two had to talk about but he was busy with Scott and Allison while Derek was with the grown-ups.

“So, Allison, what was that with your dad?” Stiles was not the sort to be subtle.

She laughed. “Dad sort of walked in on Scott and me because he was paying too much attention to making out with Talia.”

“Oh.” Stiles snorted. “Gross.”

Scott flushed. “Yeah, well, at least we still had our clothes on. You know, your dad is really fit, Allison.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t mention my father’s physique.”

“So,” Lydia plopped down between Scott and Stiles, a glass of wine in hand, “you and me get to have terrifying nightmares again?”

“Did Jackson have it?”

“Not that he’s said.” Lydia pursed her lips. “Not that we’re talking right now.”

“Why would you?” Stiles muttered. “There are much more attractive options. My dad just hired a new deputy you know. Parrish, I think. He’s cute. Twenty-four I think? It’s totally not creepy at all, your eighteen going to college. A summer fling would be good for you.” Stiles was trying to be a good friend. While Jackson had redeemed himself to some degree by being there for him and Lydia in Las Vegas, that didn’t make up for being a jack ass for nearly sixteen years.

Lydia wrinkled her nose. “Are you trying to set me up, Stiles?”

“Maybe. Have you seen Deputy Parrish? I mean, you should see him before you dismiss him. If I wasn’t dating someone, _I_ would try to get that.”

“Are you thinking about leaving me for the new deputy again?” Derek loomed over Stiles, his grin showed he wasn’t serious. He leaned down and stole a kiss.

“I was trying to convince Lydia to take a run at him, actually.”

“Mm-hmm.” Derek shook his head. “He is attractive, Lydia. Fresh faced, kind a sweet.”

She rolled her eyes. “I will be the judge of his attractiveness, thank you.” She finished her wine. “Anyone else feel like going up to the lake?”

“Really?” Erica and Boyd wandered over. “I feel like swimming.”

“It’s settled then.” Lydia stood up. “Who’s driving?”

“We can take my dad’s SUV,” Allison said.

“And my Jeep.” Stiles stood up and put an arm around Derek. “Come on, sourwolf, let’s get naked and jump in a lake.”

Derek rolled his eyes and slapped Stiles’ on the ass. “Don’t call me that.” He looked at Scott. “You two coming?”

“Sure,” Scott stood and then helped Allison to her feet.

Erica grinned. “Hey, lovebirds, you coming or do you plan on sneaking into the woods to fuck?”

Isaac flipped her off. “Fuck you.”

She smiled sweetly and returned the gesture.

“Come on, let’s go.”

***

Lydia’s family had a house out by the lake where she held frequent parties before that night in the woods. This was the first night she’d come back to the house with friends since she’d come back to Beacon Hills.

They gathered on the shore, stripping rapidly before diving into the water with shrieks and shouts of glee. Stiles splashed Derek and had to swim away rapidly when Derek lunged at him. For a little while at least, they could all forget about magical tree stumps, and murderers that were supposed to be dead already. After they were all too cold to be comfortable swimming any longer, everyone went back to shore to dry off and then pair off.

Derek helped dry Stiles off. Stiles licked his lips. “You look…scandalous.”

“Do I?”

Stiles nodded and stretched up for a kiss. “Why don’t you and I go warm up in my car?”

Derek smiled. “Sure.”

Lydia, noting the general connubial mood of the party, rolled her eyes and headed into the house, closing the door firmly behind her.

Allison and Scott slipped off into the boat house, Erica and Boyd stayed by the shore, leaving Isaac and Jackson staring at each other. After a long awkward pause, they headed into the house after Lydia.

In the Jeep, Stiles had put the front seats down as far as they would go and straddled Derek’s lap, leaning down over the gruff, muscular werewolf to kiss him. Stiles had Derek’s lower lip caught between his teeth as he raked his fingernails down Derek’s arms. Derek snarled, gripping Stiles’ waist tight. It didn’t take long for them to warm up. Derek pulled away from Stiles’ kiss to nibble at his neck. Stiles threw his head back and moaned, hips thrusting forward to rub himself against Derek’s stomach.

“I love you,” Stiles panted.

Derek paused in his teething to smile. “I love you too.”

“There’s lube in my glove box,” Stiles added.

“I know,” Derek said. “I put it there.”  
Stiles grinned. “Then hurry up.”

Derek growled, pulling the glove box open and snatching up the bottle. “Later, when I’m hard again,” he opened the bottle and poured lube over his dick, wrapping his hand around himself to coat it, “I’m going to put your mouth to better use.”

Stiles swallowed. “Promise?”

Derek pulled Stiles forward and slipped his fingers inside his mouthy lover. Stiles gasped. “I promise,” Derek replied.

Stiles couldn’t find words as he slipped down onto Derek’s dick. A few managed to break free. Mostly “Oh, my, Derek…fuck…” and similar expressions of orgasmic delight. Stiles bit down on his hand to keep himself from screaming as he came, preferring not to advertise it to the

whole world.

Derek was only a few steps behind him, grunting as he bit into Stiles’ neck instead. Stiles didn’t especially mind.

“Mm,” Stiles leaned his head against Derek’s shoulder. “I don’t think I can drive after that.”

“I’ll drive,” Derek replied.

Other than a smear of blood, the bite was already healing. Stiles looked at his boyfriend and shook his head. “You have a biting fetish.”

“Yeah? So do you. And claws. And other things…” Derek smiled. “We should clean up.”

Stiles glanced down at the mess between them and nodded. “Wet wipes are—”

“In the glove box,” Derek finished. “I know.”

There came a knock on the window, it was Lydia.

Stiles gave her a look. “What?”

“I thought you should know, there’s a car with flashing lights coming up the road.”

Stiles blinked. “Oh fuck.”


	4. Opening Moves

By the time the car made it to them, Stiles and Derek had managed to get cleaned and dressed in record time. The pack gathered quickly in the driveway and watched as the patrol car was parked and a man climbed out of the driver’s side door. He looked too young to be a deputy, with sandy brown hair and pale eyes that were a yellow sort of green.

“I got a call that there was screaming and fireworks,” he said. “Deputy Hale, you see anything?”

Derek blinked. “Parrish, no. I’ve been here with them the whole time, nothing like that.”

Stiles smiled. “You know we don’t light fireworks unsupervised, Deputy,” he said. “That would be dangerous.”

Lydia was appraising Parrish the way someone would a horse they were thinking about purchasing. From the smile, it seemed she approved.

“I don’t let people set fireworks off at my parties, Deputy,” she said. “And the only screaming was Stiles when he jumped in the lake.”

“I did not,” he protested.

Deputy Parrish made a face. “All right then. I’ll chalk this up to a prank call then.”

“Sorry about that,” Derek jogged over to Parrish. “You know, some folks in this town really don’t have enough to do. They see kids going out to the lake and just have to ruin their fun. I guess they didn’t see me as enough of a chaperone.”

Parrish made a face. “I hate getting fake calls.”

“Was it a man or a woman?” Stiles asked, the hair on the back of his neck was up.

“A woman,” Parrish replied. “Why?”

Stiles was about to reply, when a scream sent everyone’s hackles up.

“Stay here,” Derek snapped, following Parrish toward the source of the sound.

Lydia and Stiles exchanged equal expressions of disdain, and followed along behind. Scott sighed.

“We should go too.” He glanced at Allison. “Just in case.”

She smirked. “Right, just in case.”

Stiles led the cadre of teenagers after the deputies with very little attempt at stealth. He was pretty sure Derek and Parrish couldn’t detain _all_ of them. At the edge of the lake Parrish had a flashlight trained on a shape floating in the water. The more than human among the teenagers had nostrils flaring at the scent of blood.

Parrish was on his radio. “This is Deputy Parrish, I’ve got a body at the Martin’s lake house. I need EMT’s and the crime scene unit.”

Stiles looked around at the others and then back down at the body. There would have been more concern toward checking for signs of life—except the body was missing a head.

“Oh my god,” Jackson made a face, “I think that’s Greenberg.”

“How can you tell?” Lydia asked.

“That’s his number,” Isaac said. “Doesn’t mean it’s him.”

“Who else would wear his number?” Jackson replied with a sneer.

Stiles sighed. “He has a point.”

Derek and Parrish turned toward the teenagers with near identical looks of disbelief.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay back there?” Derek said.

Stiles shrugged. “Maybe.”

Derek gave Stiles that look that said they were going to talk about this later and looked back to the body. “This is bad,” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Parrish agreed. He looked back at the teenagers. “All right kids, I need you all to go back to the house and wait until we come and get you. Call your parents and have them come out too.”

There was some shifting of feet and general disobedience going on until Derek growled.

“Do you want me to call my mother on you?”

That was enough to make the kids think twice and trudge back up to the house to wait. Stiles sank down onto the couch and sighed.

“Who do you think killed Greenberg?”

“Probably the same person that’s causing our nightmares,” Lydia replied.

“Unless there are two psychotic killers stalking Beacon Hills,” Stiles said.

“Thanks, I needed to hear that idea,” Scott muttered.

Allison joined the group, phone in hand. “Talia is coming up with the van. She says the pack is staying at her place tonight. All of us. It’s not like any of us saw or scented much of anything.”

Stiles shrugged. “Blood and water. I don’t think he was killed at the shoreline. I mean, we would’ve heard that scream from almost anywhere along the lake.”

“That’s true,” Boyd said. “Still, it’s better we all keep our mouths shut about that. The pack is going to handle this. The police should stay out of it.”

There wasn’t any disagreement from the rest of them. Police involvement in the supernatural just mean there were more human beings in the line of fire. More targets.

Stiles had more than a feeling that the call Parrish had answered and the body were connected. The only real question was why had the caller involved Parrish in the first place? The kids would have found the body without the deputy, so there had to be a reason she wanted him there. To make things messier maybe? Stiles was pretty deep in thought when the sound of sirens came up the drive, and still thinking when Derek came into the house with Talia and John.

“Okay kids, let’s go,” Talia said.

“Stiles,” Derek tapped him on the shoulder. “Come on.”

“Oh, right.” Stiles made for Talia’s van, but Derek stopped him.

“Nope, you and I are headed to my place. Your dad put me on special detail tonight—you.”

Stiles sighed. “Fine.”

Derek put Stiles in his Camaro before returning to John. “Okay, I’ve got Stiles for the night. We need to keep this whole thing under wraps. Panic will just make it harder to catch the killer.”

“The media will notice all this activity,” Parrish remarked. “We have to tell them something.”

“No comment,” John replied. “That’s all they need to know.”

“That’s fine for a little while,” Derek said.

“We’ll think of something.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s something I don’t know?” Parrish asked.

Derek and John exchanged looks. “You’re just the new guy, that’s all,” John replied. “Derek, keep both eyes on Stiles tonight.”

“Yes sir.”

What they didn’t need was Stiles deciding to take another jaunt in the middle of the night to look at a dead body. Everybody knew how that ended the last time.

***

Stiles didn’t _really_ mind being dragged over to Derek’s. The furniture all smelled like Derek, which made Stiles feel safe. He didn’t like to admit it, but he did need more reassurances after the whole nightmare/undead druid/murder thing. He liked to think of himself as tough, he had spent all that time taking care of himself, taking care of Lydia. He wasn’t a _baby_ , it was just…he didn’t _have_ to do it all on his own anymore.

As Derek constantly reminded him.

Stiles collapsed onto Derek’s couch.

“Are you going to stay here or am I going to have to handcuff you to something?” Derek asked, tone suspiciously mild.

“I’ll be good,” Stiles replied. “I’m tired anyhow—and I want couch time.” He glanced over at Derek, hazel eyes widening. “This is…it’s a lot.”

Derek finished locking up and quickly crossed the room and dropped onto the couch next to Stiles, tugging the lithe young man into his arms. “It’s going to be okay, Stiles. We got through Peter—we’ll get through this too.”

“I’m just—I just want to finish high school, you know? I just want a bit of _normal_.”

“I know, Stiles. I know.” Derek tucked Stile’s head under his chin. “We’re going to get there. I know it.”

Stiles took a deep breath, tuning into the sound of Derek’s heart beating. “You make everything sound so easy, you know that?”

“I try.” Derek huffed softly. “Someone in this relationship has to be levelheaded.”

“Are you saying I’m not levelheaded?” Stiles complained.

“You can, on occasion, be a bit…impulsive.” Derek hedged. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”

“That’s good to hear. I think.”

Derek tugged him closer, kissing the top of his head. “Just make sure you aren’t wandering off into the woods looking for dead bodies, okay?”

“I can honestly say that is the _furthest_ thing from my mind, Derek.”

“Good. Because if you do, I can’t promise I won’t keep you handcuffed to me until the case is solved.”

“Kinky.”

Derek growled softly as Stiles nosed at his neck, nipping gently. “Incorrigible.”

“What can I say? Teenage hormones, blah blah blah.” Stiles kissed Derek’s neck. “I’m feeling vulnerable and I want you to make out with me. I want my _big, strong, werewolf boyfriend_ , to make out with me. Cool?”

Derek sighed. “Come here you.”

Stiles _really_ loved how possessive Derek got when he thought Stiles was in danger. Well, at least in the bedroom.

***

School on Monday left Stiles feeling—perturbed. More so than school usually did. The rest of the pack still _attending_ high school seemed to be in similar spirits. Allison kept zoning out during AP History, and Scott fell asleep during Chemistry.

It wasn’t until lunch though, when Danny plopped down at the pack’s table next to Jackson with a suspicion written all over his face, that Stiles realized that it wasn’t an isolated problem. The tall teen looked around the table before fixing on Stiles.

“So, I hear you guys found a body at the lake.”

Stiles sighed. “Maybe.”

“They’re saying it was Greenberg.”

“And who exactly is saying this?” Allison asked. “I know for a fact there’s a media blackout.”

Danny shrugged. “I have sources.”

“You mean Lydia,” Jackson muttered before looking over at his friend. “She did tell you, didn’t she?”

“Okay, fine, Lydia told me. But _someone else_ should have.” Danny’s gaze flickered from Jackson to Isaac, an interesting fact Stiles squirrelled away for later digging.

Isaac flushed and stuffed mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Danny was really the only member of their little troop that _didn’t_ know about all the supernatural goings on of Beacon Hills. Jackson, and to some extent Isaac, had been trying to convince Talia that Danny should be involved.

Though Stiles had a suspicion that Danny knew more than he let on. In particular, because Lydia seemed to trust him. Lydia didn’t really trust all that many people.

“Why are you so interested?” Stiles asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because Jackson literally fell asleep in class this morning.” Danny gave his friend a pointed look. “He’s probably having nightmares again. I’m concerned.”

Jackson flushed. “Shut up.”

“Nightmares?” Stiles fixed his gaze on Jackson. “Or _nightmares_?”

Jackson huffed.

Oh yeah, they were totally going to tell Talia about this and Jackson knew it.

Danny frowned. “I’m missing something here.”

Allison kicked Stiles under the table and shot him a look.

Stiles shot a look right back. He was actually _for_ bringing in Danny here. He was smart, _really_ smart, and he was good at research. With Danny along, he and Lydia wouldn’t be stuck with all of it. Besides, and outsider’s perspective could come in handy.

Danny eyed them both before settling on Stiles. “There is something going in, isn’t there?”

“Tell you what,” Stiles said with a smile, “If you promise you can keep a secret, I’ll tell you.”

“It’s not your place to do that,” Erica hissed.

Scott looked mildly terrified and Allison looked ready to jump across the table and gag Stiles with whatever came in handy.

“What, like the fact that practically everyone at this table is a werewolf?” Danny replied.

All eyes at the table turned to Danny, eyebrows raised and mouths open in surprise.

“How—”

“Dude, I would have to be blind not to notice. This place is like a supernatural magnet of weirdness.” He shrugged. “Besides, I come from a family of druids. It’s kind of our job to keep up with all this stuff.”

Stiles surprise turned to a grin. This was officially the best thing, _ever._

He couldn’t _wait_ to see the look on Derek’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So...here's an update. It's a miracle.


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